When we started visiting the museum years ago, we went in search of lunch one time… and have been going to Pho Saigon ever since. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if my kids ask to play at the Fire Museum just so they can have Pho Saigon afterwards.

This restaurant is just down Milam from the museum and is not especially fancy… but when you walk in, it is packed every single time! There are families, people on their lunch break and often some police officers. STILL, we are always seated within minutes and food comes very quick. (Last week I seriously spent longer waiting for my Chinese food take out order than I did feeding four kids at Pho Saigon.)

The menu has vermicelli and pho and everything you would expect at a Vietnamese restaurant. My kids order the kids combo with chicken or beef soup, egg roll and drink and I usually order the shrimp vermicelli. (And my picky eater orders rice or just banh mi/bread.)

Once you order, the food is out in minutes and we’re usually on our way home within a half hour. You can pay at the register whenever you want.

There are high chairs and the place is so busy that a few squeaks won’t be noticed by anyone. (And, since my toddler now likes to escape her high chair and run, it’s nice to be able to pay and go whenever we want.)

Parking is free and the lot is usually full… but we always find free street parking on the side street.

Check out our pictures… and stop by next time you are at the Houston Fire Museum (or Main Street Theater or…)!

I’m excited to see that today’s Voice Daily Dealis for $7 for $14 at Pho Saigon. Read about our last visit to Pho Saigon HERE. I’d go back for full price… and am excited to get to go back for half price. Go HERE to check out the deal.

Right down the street from the Houston Fire Museum are several Vietnamese restaurants. Today we decided to give one a try. When I pulled into the small lot, I could not find a parking spot and almost left. Good thing my 2 year old told me “no go” before I pulled back on to Milam and drove off. I gave parking one more shot and found an easy street parking spot on the side street. (There is also a parking garage.)

We were short on time, so I was a little worried about going to a sit down restaurant. Still my kids were determined so I figured I could just order and take the food to go if needed. When we went into Pho Sai Gon, we found it to be bigger than expected and very very busy. It was 12:00 and we saw parents and business men and women and doctors in scrubs. Everyone was there having a good time and the conversations were lively. Despite how busy they were , as soon as we opened the door, we were seated.

The prices in the menu are very reasonable. I did not see anything over $6.95. We ordered one kid’s meal with Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, egg roll and drink, for the kids ($3.95) and an order of shrimp spring roles ($2.20). We certainly could have found more to eat, but I was still worried about time.

That worry soon vanished. Within one minute of placing the order, we had our food. This is no exaggeration. With a packed restaurant, we had our food in a minute. My kids were delighted and there were no “where is my food” complaints for me to deal with.

My kids are adventurous eaters, but I think most kids would like the noodles that came. The restaurant was happy to get me extra bowls and forks so they could share. (I pulled the noodles and chicken out of the broth to avoid the mess.) The restaurant is casual enough not to worry about a few crumbs. It’s also loud enough to cancel out the squeaks and giggles and occasional whines of my kids.